Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide

Sharon Mallon BSc, PhD, SFHEA, is a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies at The Open University. Her teaching areas include critical approaches to mental health theory and practice. She was awarded a PhD for her qualitative study of the impact of student suicide from the perspective of their friends and was one of the authors of the RaPSS study (Response and Prevention in Student Suicide). Her research interests have developed to include social approaches to understanding death by suicide and exploring the wider impact of suicide bereavement on different bereaved groups. Jo is an Emeritus Professor of Early Intervention and Psychosis at University of Worcester. She a Clinical Psychologist by profession, with 34 years NHS clinical experience. Jo was project lead for 'Suicide Safer' a multiagency student suicide prevention initiative at University of Worcester, shortlisted for a Times HE (2018) 'Outstanding Support for Students' Award. She is a member of the international 'Zero Suicide' initiative and co-authored the 'International Declaration on Zero Suicide in Healthcare', published in 2015. She was a member of national UUK working groups which produced UUK (2017) '#Stepchange: Mental health in Higher Education', UUK (2018) 'Minding Our Future' and UUK and PAPYRUS (2018) 'Suicide Safer Universities' Toolkit. Jo has supervised two PhD research studentships exploring aspects of student suicide in UK HE.